Ore-separator.



F. O. STROMBORG.

-ORB SBPARATOR.

APFLIGATION FILED EEB. 6, 1913. 1,078,520. Patented Nov. 11, 1913 zSHEETS-SHEET 1.

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F. 0. STROMBORG.

ORE SEPARATOR.

APPLIGATION FILED FEB. e, 1913,

1,078,520. Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

2 SHBETBSHBET 2.

COLUMBIA P'LANOGRAPH cu..\vA5HlNnTON. D. c.

FRITZ OSCAR STROMBORG, F SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

ORE-SEPARATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led February 6, 1913.

Patented NOV. 1 1, 1913.

Serial No. 746,591.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, FRITZ Osc-AR STnoM- nous, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State ofvWashington, have invented certain new and useful improvements in iOre-Separa tors; and l do declare the following to be afull, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as `will enable o-thers skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to separators, and more especially to thoseemployed for the separation of material while in its dry state and bythe action of a blast of air operating on the falling material in adirection the reverse of that in which the material is deliv j ered intothe separator boX, to blow the lighter particles backward toward therear end of said box and to permit the heavier particles to be projectedtoward the front end of said box so that particles of different specificgravity will drop into different hoppers and the mass will be separatedinto grades.

The invention is designed more particularly as an improvement on thedevice covered in my United States Patent Number 1,042,836, issuedOctober 29, 1912; and its details are Vset forth in the followingspeciiication and claims, and shown in the accompanying drawingswherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation of this machine complete, takenfrom what l will call,

the rear side. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, showing also atrent side elevation of the fan casing, and Flg. 3 1s a plan View of themachine in its position as seen in Fig. 2.-

Fig. 4- is a horizontal section through the separator box or casing, onan enlarged scale. Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line 5-5 of Fig.2. Figs. 6 and 7 are perspective details respectively of the upper andlower partitions. Fig. 8 is a perspective detail showing the means foradjusting one of the wings, and Fig. 9 is an enlarged vertical sectionthrough the handle o1 the crank shown in Fig. 8j.

ln the drawings the numeral 1 designates the bed or framework which inthe present case is illustrated as seated upon a Hoor 2 havingtherethrough an opening 3 for a purpose yet to appear, and at the frontend of this bed is a fan 41 or other means for producing a blast of airwhich is delivered through the trunk 5 and into the separator box orcasing 6. The top of the latter is preferably formed by two doors 7 and8 hinged at 9 and connected to each other and to the sides of the casingby hooks 10 or other suitable means, thereby producing an angle at thecenter of the top of such casing, for a purpose to appear below. Therear end of this casing has an opening 11 through which the ore or othermaterial to be acted upon is fed, and its bottom is also open as seen at12. Above the opening in the bottom are disposed transverse shafts 13which are journaled in the side walls of the casing and each oi' whichhas a crank handle 111 at its cuter or front end as seen in Fig. 8. Thehand piece of this crank handle is made in the shapeV of a pin 15movably mounted in the outer end of the crank and projected normallyinward by a spring 16 so that the tip of thc pin will engage one of aseries of holes 17 formed in the wall of the casing as shown, but whenthe hand piece is retracted to compress the spring the inner end of thepin will be disengaged from this hole and the crank may beset to engagethe pin with some other hole. On the shaft 13 inside the casing isiixcdly mounted a wing 17, and the arrangement is such that two or threeof these wings are grouped above the open `upper end of each of threehoppers 18, 19,

and 20 as shown in Fig. 2. Said hoppers are by preference mounted oncross bars 21 whose ends rest on the sills of the bed 1 as seen in Fig.1, so that the entire gro-up oi.

hoppers may be adjusted forward or back-` ward beneath the bottom of thecasing along the opening 3 and possibly to such an extent that theiropen upper ends will come under diilerent wings as will be clear.Meanwhile each wing may be adjusted to any angle desired, by the crankhandle and stop mechanism above described, or by any other snit- `ableand equi\f*alent adjusting device which may be substituted therefor. ldesire it understood that the adjusting means just described is simplytypical of any which may be employed at this point, but the setting ofthe various hoppers at different distances from the inlet opening ll isan improvement over my prior patent above referred to.

VJithin the casing are disposed several substantially horizontalpartitions, and by preference l would have no less than two as shownherein, although there might be more. These may be of wood or metal,solid or hollow, and by preference they fill the entire space betweenthe side walls of the casing and are sharpened at their front and rearedges so as to eut the blast of air forced through the trunk and deliverit in strata with as little resistance thereto as possible. In thepresent illustration the uppermost partition is slightly longer than thelowermost partition and has both its upper face 26 and lower face 27inclined upward from its sharp front edge 28 to obtuse angles 29 abouttwo-thirds of the way from its front to its rear edges, and thenceinclined downward on converging lines to its sharp rear edge S10-theupper face 2G substantially paralleling the lower face of the doors 7and S which constitute the top of the casing. The upper face 36 of thelower partition v is similarly formed, but its lower face 37 issubstantially flat, although it has sharp front and rear edges 38 and 89as shown. rEhe construction and purpose is such that the channel l0between the contiguous faces of the two partitions shall be ofsubstantially one size throughout its length, when the partitions standin their normal positions as best seen in Fig. 2, the same as thechannel al above the uppermost partition is also of one size throughoutits length, although both channels incline upward and are then inclineddownward Linder the angle at the center of the casino'. The space 42below the fiat lower face 3'( of the lowermost partition, on thecontrary, gows larger from the trunk 5 of the casing toward. its outletend where occurs the opening ll. By this construction it foll-ows that ablast of air passing inward through the trunk 5 is cut by the sharpfront edges of the partitions into a plurality of strata, whereof onestratum passes upward along the channel el and is directed toward andalmost into the opening ll, another stratum passes along the channel 40between its two partitions and is directed at a point a little below theopening ll so that the material passing into the lat-ter is struckforcibly by this blast of air, and. the stratum of air below the frontedge of the lowermost partition passes into a channel 42 which growslarger toward the rear end of the casing with the result that the airfinds less and less resistance as it progresses and moves slower andslower across the upper edges of the wings-all for a purpose hereinafterto appear.

While any suitable means may be ei-- ployed for adjusting the positionsof the partitions, l have illustrated one such means herewith and willdescribe it as follows, although I do not wish to be limited thereto.Through each partition near its front and rear edges are formed slots45, and through the sides of the casing at proper points to registerwith the slots are formed upright series of holes d6. Through the latterand through the slots are passed eye-bolts l? whose eyes stand at oneside of the casing as seen in Fig. l and serve as handles, while thumbnuts i8 are screwed onto their threaded ends which project beyond theother side of the casing, so as to hold the eye bolts in place andsupport the partitions in their adjusted positions. This device willanswer for holding the partitions and for permitting them to beadjusted, but in order that it may not be necessary for the operator toget inside the casing to effect such adjustment l preferably make use ofa crank shaft e9 journaled in the side walls of the casing near each endof each partit-ion and somewhat below it as shown and having a crankhandle on its front end by means of which it may be turned, and Iconnect the crank 5l of each shaft by means of a pitman rod 52 with theadjacent end of the partition as best seen in Fig. 2. Yfhen the eye boltin this end is withdrawn, the crank handle may be turned to rock thecrank shaft and, through its pitman rod, to raise or lower this end ofthe partition as desired-after which the eye bolt will be reinserted inthe proper pair of holes 4G and its thumb nut 4&8 applied to hold it inplace.

The feed mechanism for this improved separator is also an improvementover my prior patent above referred to. By preference the material to betreated is dropped onto or delivered through a chute 55 which is carriedby a suitable support 56 on a light framework 57 hinged at 57 touprights 5S at the rear end of the bed l, and said framework hasbearings in which is journaled a shaft 59. The rear end of the frameworkis adjusted between other uprights or standards 60 rising from the bed,by means of a pin or bolt 61 inserted in one of the series of holes G2to sustain the outer end of the framework 57, as illustrated at theright of Fig. l. By this or any equivalent means said framework may beadjusted vertically at its outer end, but here again l reserve theprivilege of changing the details of construction, illustrated herewithas merely typical. Said shaft 59 is rotated by any suitable means as bya pulley 63 on one end thereof, connected by a belt 64 with a pulley 65on one end of the shaft of the fan 1l, and said fan may be driven by anysuitable a second endless apron '70 which moves over rollers 7l and 72,and the latter is mounted in spring bearings 73 directly above theroller 67, whereas the other roller 71 is mounted over the belt 68 andin bearings 74 carried by the light framework at a suitable point, andstands forward of the lower end of the chute 55. llt follows thatmaterial flowing down the latter passes under the rear roller 7l of theupper apron `70, and is `carried forward between the two aprons andbetween the forward rollers 6'? and 72; and if a large lump of materialshould be thus fed into the machine, the belt G8 will yield and thespring bearings 73 will permit the upper inner roller 72 to rise so thatno injury will result to the feed mechanism. Vlas shown, said mechanismdelivers the material through the opening l'l to the rear end of theseparator casino'.

lilith the above construction of parts, the action of this machine is asfollows: Power being applied through the belt 66 or otherwise, the fan asets up a blast of air through out the trunk -5 which is split by thesharp front edges of the partitions into strata passing over and beneathand between the partitions in the manner above described, and suchstratum as passes along a channel which has an angle within its lengthis (theoretically) delivered from the rear end of said channel in whatmight be called a cloud which is rolling slightly reversely to itsdirection of Jtravel, rat-her than proceeding straight along its coursewithout the collateral inliuences of any currents in it which have beenset up by the structure of the channel through which it passed. lf thepartitions be so adjusted that the channel grows smaller toward the rearend of the casing, the blast of air or stratum progresses faster andfaster as it proceeds along said channel; conversely the reverse is trueand a blast of air would progress slower and slower if the channel grewlarger toward its rear end. l find, however, that the action of thesestrata of air upon the material being forced in through the opening 1lis precisely what is desired in a machine of this charactor. The rapidlymoving belt 64E connected with the feed mechanism causes the material tobe fed into said Vopening l1 at consid/arable velocityso that in efiectit is tossed into the rear end of the casing and toward the rear edgesof the partitions. .lhose par ticles which are large and heavy willordinarily be thrown by this action into the intermediate vhopper 19 orthe front hopper QO-according as the various wings may be set. Thoseparticles which have less specificgravity and perhaps greater size willfeel the influences of the various strata of air more, and while theywill be tossed with considerable velocity they will be retarded ordetlected as they fall so that ordinarily they will drop into theintermediate hopper l9-again, according as the wings are set. Finally,those particles which are `light in weight or small in size or both willalmost invariablybe blown backward toward `the rear end of the casing,so that they will fall into `the hopper 18. lt will be at once obviousthat the setting of^ the wings is an important factor in the successfuloperation ofthis device, as also `the adjustment of the variouspartitions and the consequent variation in the size of the channels.However,

the adjustment of the wings will ordinarily depend upon the materialbeing fed, whereas the adjustment of the partitions will depend upon thevolume ofair and the climatic conditions existing; and both adjustmentswill need considerable experiment in order to teach the ope ator howbest to apply them to the grades of ore `being separated or to the kindsof grain or other material being treat ed in this machine. ln fact,despite his en perience it may become necessary to effect adjustmentswhile the machine is in action, and this accounts for my preferredemployment of means for setting the wings and adjusting the partitionsfrom the exterior of the casing without necessarily stopping the motionof the machine. rli'he parts are of the desired sizes, shapes,proportions, and materials and-as above suggested-l do not wish to belimited to the precise details of construction, especially of featuresherein typically shown only for purposes of illustration.

What is claimed as new is:

l. ln a dry separator, the combination with a fixed horizontal casinghaving openf ings at its extremities and in its bottom, and hoppersbeneath the latter, of feeding mechanism for tossing the material to betreated into the rear end of the c: sing, means for adjusting the angleat which said material is delivered, and means for delivering a blastlili of air into the opening in the front end of t the casing.

2. In a dry separator, the combination with a. iiXed horizontal casinghaving' openings in its bottom, hoppers beneath the openings, and meansfor adjusting the posh tion of the mouths of said hoppers; of feedingmechanism for tossing the material to be treated into the rear end ofthe casing, means for adjusting the angle at which said material isdelivered, means for delivering a blast of air within the casing andtoward said material, and means for varying the size and shape of thechannel through which said blast flows, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a dry separator, the combination with the casing having a seriesof hoppers communicating with its bottom at diierent points; ot meansfor delivering a blast of air into the front end of said easing,meehanism for cutting said blast into strata, means for tossing thematerial to be treated into the rear end of said casing on a linedirected across the mouths of the hoppers and toward said air-strata,and means for adjusting' the position of said mechanism to vary theangle of this line to said strata.

i. ln a dry separator, the combination with the casing having a seriesof hoppers communicating with its bottom at different points; of meansfor delivering a blast ot air into the front end oli' said casing, meansfor cutting said blast into strata, and mechanism for feeding thematerial to be treated into the rear end or" said casing comprising apair of endless aprons whose contiguous sides Contact with each otherand move toward said easing, rollers supporting said aprons, thatsupporting the uppermost being mounted in spring bearings, a lightframework supporting all suoli bearings, and means for adjusting theangle of the framework to the direction of said strata ot air.

5. ln a dry separator, the combination with a easing; of a plurality ofpartitions standing within said easing in approximate parallelism witheach other and with the top wall of the easing, each having a slotthrough it near each end, the side walls of the casing having uprightrows of holes registering with said slots, a series of eye bolts whereoreach passes through a pair otl said holes and through the slot in theintervening partition, a thumb nut on the threaded end of said eye bolt,and means for adjusting the position of said partition, for the purposeset forth.

G. ln a dry separator, the combination with a casing having upright sidewalls and its top wall converging to an angle between its front and rearends, the latter being provided with openings, means for delivering ablast of air into the front opening, and means tor tossing the materialto be treated into the rear opening; of a series of hopperscommunicating with the bottom of the Casing, and a plurality ofpartitions within said Casing whereof the upper tace of the uppermostpartition normally parallels the top oi the casing.

7. In a. dry separator, the combination with a casing having uprightside walls and its top wall converging to an angle between its front andrear ends, the latter being provided with openings, means for deliveringablast of air into the front opening, and means for tossing the materialto be treated into the rear opening; of a series of hoppersCommunicating with the bottom of the casing, and a plurality ofpartitions within said casing whereof the upper face of the uppermostpartition normally parallels the top ot the casing and the lower facehas an angle in its length didering from that in the upper face, and theu iper face of the partition next below normally parallels the lowerface of the uppermost partition and its lower face is fiat, tor thepurpose set forth. Y

8. In a dry separator, the Combination with a easing having upright sidewalls and doors at its top wall converging to an angle between its frontand rear ends, the latter being provided with openings, means fordelivering a blast of air into the front opening, and means for tossingthe material to be treated into the rear opening; oit a series ofioppers communicating with the bottom oit the casing, and a plurality ofpartitions within said easing whereof the upper tace of the uppermostpartition normally parallels the doors at the top ot the casing, and itslower face is out ot' parallel with its upper tace, and means Yforadjusting said partition.

9. ln al dry separator, the combination with a easing having uprightside walls and its top wall converging to an angle between its front andrear ends, the latter being provided with openings, means for deliveringa blast of air into the front opening, and means for tossing thematerial to be treated into the rear opening; of a series or" hoppersCommunicating with the bottom of the Casing, a plurality of partitionswithin said casing and independent means for adjusting the front andrear ends ot said partitions independently of each other whereby theblast of air may be split into various strata.

l0. ln a dry separator, the combination with a iiXed horizontal easinghaving openings atits extremities and in its bottom, hoppers beneath thelatter, and means for adjusting the position of the mouths of saidhoppers; of feeding mechanism for tossing the material to be treatedinto the rear end of the easing, means for adjusting the angle at whichsaid material is delivered, and means for delivering a blast of air intothe opening in the front end of the casing and cutting it into stratadirected toward said material.

ll. ln a dry separator, the combination vith a iiXed horizontal easinghaving openings in its extremities and in its bottom, hoppers beneaththe latter, and means for adjusting the position of the mouths ot saidhoppers; of feeding mechanism tor tossing the material to be treatedinto the rear end of the casing, means for adjusting the angle at whichsaid meterals delivered, means In testimony whereof I have hereunto setfor delvei'ng e blast of air into the openmy hand in presence of twosubscribing Witng in the front end of the casing and cutmesses.

ting it into stl'atedireeted toward said mete- FRITZ OSCAR STROMBORG.rial, and means for Varying the size and Witnesses:

shape of the channels through which said A. LARsoN,

strate flow, for the purpose set forth. W. J. EVANS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

